


Hearts of Flame

by Lyra_Dhani



Series: Superhero AU [2]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Family, Gen, Hero Complex, Superheroes, Why can't I make something fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 17:41:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11385162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyra_Dhani/pseuds/Lyra_Dhani
Summary: All of them had changed.Poseidon said it was natural (as if they were normal to begin with). BB called it evolution (the kid was smart but he tended to forget that human was different from robot). Spring and Tempesta denied it (even though the thing growing between them was so painfully obvious that even Eclipse noticed it).Tsuna just hoped it didn't break them. The void was there, standing so close, always watching.The moment it swallowed them all, there would be no place for them to return.





	Hearts of Flame

**Author's Note:**

> Yuhuuu~! It took a while but I finally decided to continue this AU! Maybe I'll make some more, maybe not. Let's just wait and see. By the way, if you haven't read In The Fire, read that first and it would make a lot more sense if you do.

"Thanks for saving me, Captain Flamme," a kid said, grinning widely. "I want to be a hero like you!"

Tsuna forced a smile.

Don't, he wanted to say.

It had been a long time ago since he decided to be a hero and he still couldn't decide whether it was a good choice or not.

He could feel the void watching closely, waiting for the day they would succumb to the darkness.

It would be nice if he could just fall into the void alone.

"Come on, Flamme," King said impatiently.

"Take care of yourself, kid," Tsuna said in his deep raspy voice. He was tempted to say, Don't end up like me.

.  
.

"You can tell me anything, you know," Tsuna said, on a rooftop in the middle of monitoring the enemy.

Tempesta smiled. It was a fake smile, Tsuna could tell. Unlike Flamme and Spring, Tempesta wasn't good at acting and lying. And that was why he could never hide the fact that something was bothering him.

"Captain, do you believe in true love?" Tempesta asked. 

Suddenly, Tsuna could truly see him, a boy who barely reached teenage age yet.

What a tragic sight. 

"I don't know," Tsuna answered in the same manner when Checker Face had asked, Aren't you afraid of death, Flamme?

"Well, I am not," Tempesta said. "I don't believe it. Happy ending only happens in fairy tale, anyway."

Tsuna didn't say anything. He truly didn't know, or more like he didn't want to know.

Love sounded as painful as death.

.  
.

The red-haired kid, Irie Shouichi, stood still, staring at him in shock.

Tsuna took a step forward to Irie's room then bowed regretfully. "I am sorry."

"What..?"

It was an unfogivable mistake, Tsuna knew that. Because no one could save the death and turn back the time.

If he could do that, Irie wouldn't have lost his father and no kids would have dragged into this mess.

("It's his fate, Flamme," Checker Face said. "Whether you choose to be hero or not, that guy is destined to die."

"Then what's the point I become a hero?" Tsuna asked.

Checker Face didn't answer.)

Irie didn't say anything and Tsuna got out of the house before he had the chance.

Coward, a bully once mocked him and it had always been true.

.  
.

Tsuna looked at Poseidon lying in Checker Face's bed, something dark and cold surrounding him.

("It's a curse," Checker Face explained.)

Poseidon sat up upon realizing his presence and smiled so brightly, despite the horrible thing that had happened to him. "Flamme."

"Poseidon," Tsuna choked. And it hurt watching him like this, putting a brave front and acting so fearless even though he was just a kid, not older than twelve.

Poseidon laughed, but it made him looked even more broken instead. "I am okay, Flamme."

Tsuna closed his eyes. Both of them knew that it was a lie but he managed to mutter, "Yeah."

.  
.

"My legs..." Riel said. Her whole body was trembling and she ironically looked like a human being instead of a lifeless puppet right now.

Tsuna held her hand before she could break down completely, thought it seemed she had broken down a long time ago.

"You will be okay," Tsuna whispered firmly.

"My legs," Riel repeated.

"I know. You'll be okay."

The door opened with a bang and Tsuna whirled around, staring at Sabrie who stood in the doorway. His face was covered with a mask but Tsuna could tell that he was angry.

These days, it was getting easier to read their emotion.

"What the hell is this, Flamme."

It wasn't a question. It was a demand.

Tsuna didn't answer.

Sabrie scowled furiously. "I am going to kill that bastard."

"The bad guy is dead."

Eclipse killed him, he didn't say.

"Then, I am going to kill King."

Surprisingly, it was Riel who objected. "Don't! It's my own fault."

Tsuna laughed and Sabrie turned his glare at him.

"It's no one's fault," he said, wearing his false mask of calmness. "Except mine."

"Shut up," Sabrie said. "Just shut up."  
.  
.

It was Sabrie's idea to raid the Vongola, a great mafia family, but surprisingly, he was the first among them who proposed to have a negotiation.

None of them objected.

True, they almost completely raided Vongola's HQ, but they were at their limits already.

Two hours after the negotiation, Tsuna took a rest behind a small nameless bar in a dirty alley, Spring passing out beside him.

He stared at his teammates, each of them busy tending their wounds, and sighed heavily. They knew now what the wars felt like, even though they were just a group of kids.

With Spring's head peacefully resting in his shoulder, Tsuna closed his eyes and let his guard down for the first time in weeks. 

.  
.

They had been called by many names, using stars and galaxy as their themes. Because what could be more perfect than the beauty of the outer space?

Nebula Warrior, children called affectionately.

Supernova, the adults called admirably.

Andromeda, teenagers called lovingly.

And a bunch of other names they didn't bother to remember.

But there was one name which was different from others, a distinct name that felt out of place, and yet it stuck to them like a glue.

It wasn't even a name. It was originally an insult.

"The Flamethrower," a great villain once mocked them.

It meant they couldn't be the bright shining stars. It meant they were nothing but dangerous tools.

Not even Sabrie could think of a better insult.

It was horrible. It was terrifying.

It was a nice reminder. 

Human couldn't be as bright as the stars.

But they were heroes. If people needed a flamethrower instead of the stars, they'd be a blazing flamethrower. They'd burn everything until there was nothing left.

And then, just like the stars, they'd exploded and turned into nothing, dush and ash gathered together to create a new hope carried to the future.

Flamethrower, the villains called hatefully, with respect and fear.

.  
.

"The City of Stars?"

"You haven't heard? Namimori is officially acknowledged as the hometown of heroes so people call it like that."

"I see."

.  
.

A few months after Tsuna made his appearance as Flamme, he met Checker Face.

The masked man had talked about obstacles and changing path.

It was only after Tsuna met his teammates that he realized what it meant.

Whether he was a hero or not, nothing would really change. 

But years later, Tsuna would look back and wonder if things would really be the same if he didn't choose to be a hero.

Maybe Poseidon wouldn't have lost his normal life. Maybe things would've turned better between Tempesta and Spring. Maybe Riel would've walked using her real legs, instead of using her artificial ones.

Maybe it was all really his fault.

"Don't even lie," Tsuna said when Checker Face opened his mouth to object. 

"But you don't seriously regret it, do you, Flamme?" 

Tsuna wanted to answer that he did regret it, but he actually wasn't really sure.

If he really regretted it, why did he still become a superhero? Why didn't he stop his teammates from continuing this useless struggle?

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

When he left out the antique shop, his teammates were already waiting. The new kid, BB, bounced excitedly.

Tsuna couldn't help but smile.

.  
.

Tsuna never had the time for friendship--no one would want to befriend Dame-Tsuna, anyway--but he knew what it was like.

This bond he had with his new friends--family, Reborn insisted--couldn't be called friendship at all.

There was this delicate transparent wall separating them like an ocean.

But it was fun and Tsuna felt less lonely when they were around.

Still, no one broke the wall, even though it was so easy to break.

Tsuna smiled at Yamamoto's familiar laugh, felt exasperated at Gokudera's familiar admiring stare, rolled his eyes at Ryohei's familiar antics.

Haru's eyes were empty and Lambo was smart and Hibari had a nice pair of tonfa.

When Tsuna looked at them, he felt like he was looking at his superhero teammates.

But that was impossible, wasn't it? Tsuna didn't even want to think about it, about this possibility. It sounded like a huge source of headache.

So, Tsuna smiled and laughed and pretended that the secret they kept from each other didn't hurt him.

(It actually hurt a lot. And they were hurting too. And yet, the wall was still there, standing between them, because they were too scared to break it.)

.  
.

The only one who knew Flamme's true identity was Irie Shouichi. Irie created a flame detector to track Flamme and immediately destroyed the device once he found out where Flamme lived. He was a smart boy, he could see its potential danger.

("I know you're Flamme."

"I see," Tsuna said, feeling too numb to be surprised.

Irie stared at him, sadness in his eyes. "Flamme, their death isn't your fault. Stop blaming yourself."

Tsuna stared back. "How can you say that? Even though I've failed to save your father?"

"That's not your fault, either.")

Tsuna never told Reborn about his secret job and luckily, Reborn never suspected. 

At first, the Sun Arcobaleno always demanded where he'd gone off to but after Tsuna made it clear that he wouldn't give any answer, Reborn gave up.

Identities were important. Knowing their true names meant holding a certain power which could easily ruin a country.

Tsuna separated his job from his real life to make sure no one could discover Flamme's true identity. His teammates was most likely doing the same thing.

.  
.

"We don't even get paid. Why would anyone want to put up with this superhero bullshit?" 

Tsuna, who was in the middle of monitoring the enemy's location, turned his head and stared at Sabrie. "Why would you?"

Sabrie flinched and looked away. It had always been a mistery to them. Just as misterious as the concept behind Lambo's giant robot ("You sure this thing is safe?") and King's nature ("I bet he's an UMA!").

"Well, everyone has secrets. Don't you, Flamme?" Poseidon asked.

Tsuna ignored the chill running down his spine. "Of course."

Poseidon nodded, smiling. His smile looked strange, as if he couldn't decide whether to show kindness or malice. It had always been like that ever since the Wicked Witch cursed him.

He wasn't the same Poseidon who first greeted Flamme years ago.

And Sabrie might haven't realized it yet, but he'd changed too since the first time they met.

All of them had changed.

Poseidon said it was natural (as if they were normal to begin with). BB called it evolution (the kid was smart but he tended to forget that human was different from robot). Spring and Tempesta denied it (even though the thing growing between them was so painfully obvious that even Eclipse noticed it).

Tsuna just hoped it didn't break them. The void was there, standing so close, always watching.

The moment it swallowed them all, there would be no place for them to return.

.  
.

The signs were everywhere. They just wanted to run away from the truth, averting their eyes and shielding theirselves.

But once the wall crumbled, they had no other place to run.

The Flamethrower wasn't a bunch of cowards, however.

Once it was clear that the signs couldn't be ignored any longer, they faced the painful reality head-on.

Which was why they gathered on a small unnoticeable cafe in the corner of the town two weeks after the Kokuyou incident.

The meeting was incredibly awkward. Tsuna looked down the whole time, suddenly finding his shoes very interesting to look at. 

But, it was going well and when Tsuna went home, he felt as though a weight had lifted from his shoulder. He looked up at the bright stars and prayed for a better tomorrow.

.  
.

**Author's Note:**

> If you think the writing quality has dropped, it's probably not just your imagination. I wasn't really in the mood when I was writing this, but here it is. Tell me your opinion. It will help a lot.


End file.
